Lost Princess
by ITeraPrince
Summary: It's really easy to get lost in books, no one knows that better than Hermione.


Lost Princess

Her fingers brushed against the soft texture of the page, her eyes dead set on the words that filled the page. With every word she read, she lost herself more and more into the story walking and talking amongst the characters as if they were really there. This current book that she was reading was about a young princess that was in line for the throne, her parents have tried to find her a potential suitor to rule by her side but she was most defiant. She would escape the castle in disguise past the guards and into the village. Where the townsfolk spoke cheerfully to each other sometimes in song, the young princess admired how happy they were living their simple lives on the farms and villages. A family of farmers peeked her interest more than the others though.

They were the Westons and they owned a huge inn that span as tall as a tower. The mother would care for any of her guests as if they were her own children. Which was remarkable because she had brought up so many, they could be seen running errands distinct from most for their red hair. The first night she sneaked out of the castle she stumbled upon their inn to escape the rain and was taken aback from the kindness of the mother. She thank the gods that the mother couldn't recognize her as the princess otherwise she would have been taken by the guards back up to the castle where she would lay tireless. She grew to befriend the family, the young boys, the parents and the single daughter treated her no differently. They have grown accustom to her visiting ever so often, as time passed the youngest child the daughter had become the princess's best friend. A confidant that she sadly spoke little truth to, much to her dismay she had to in order to hide her identity.

"Whoa I made it!" Hermione poked an eye out to see Harry trying to catch his breath now sitting on a chair in front of her. At first she was mad at him for disturbing her reading but she had been the one to arrange this study session with Harry and Ron. "Sorry I'm late Mione, a couple of first years were trying to free their brooms from the whomping willow and well I had to help them." Her cheeks burned as she hid a smiled from him, 'he's so sweet' she thought to herself. She laid her cheek against her hand, oh why does Lady Luck have to be so cruel. Her long crush on Harry has made her paralyzed, fearing doing something stupid in front of him. She had hoped that Ron would join them so it wouldn't be as awkward for her as it is now.

He grinned wickedly picking up a book "Yeah count that as my good deed for the day." He spoke with a soft laugh which earned him a stern look from Hermione "Kidding." he quickly spoke. Pulling out his work he groaned realizing that he still had a lot of work to do. Hermione softly giggled at his actions, "Where's Ron? Did he forget again?" he simply shook no and pointed at his stomach. The two of them laughed at the thought of their good friend at the great hall stuffing himself. "At least he's applying himself don't worry I'll give him my notes Mione." She silently thanked for that and decided to continue on reading as Harry started his work.

The entire kingdom was filled with commotion, servants and handmaidens rushed past the princess giving her a mighty challenge to reach her parents. She reached the throne room interrupting her mother and father planning with the court. They informed her that their royal friends were coming for a celebration, to celebrate what they did not say; they just told her to get ready. Handmaidens tended to her up at the tower gossiping amongst themselves as they braided the princess's hair into nots and curls. Curiosity brewed inside of her, so when she was free she attempted to spy on her parents, listening in on their intentions from afar while avoiding guard suspicion.

What she heard baffled her but she kept it to herself as she did not want time locked in her tower as punishment for being nosy. How could they do this to her, especially without her consent it wasn't like her parents. She lifted her dress to run back to her room before her mother got there. Luckily due to her rebellious nature as a child she knew the quickest way back to her room. Her mother entered unphased by her slightly ruffled appearance, she sat with her on her bed and softly spoke. Hearing the words from her mother made her believe that they had genuine intentions and that she should not harbor any hateful feelings towards their secrecy. She hugged her mother signaling that she understood what their plan was and that she was fine with it.

The guard towers rang with the song of horns signaling the arrival of the royals, chariots can be seen making their way towards the castle. The princess marveled at how many she saw, this must be a big deal she concluded. A handmaiden appeared at her door ready to escort her down to the Great Hall where some of the guests had already arrived. How quickly had her kingdom changed overnight, the halls filled with red and gold banners, furniture and decorations held accented colors that made the entire castle a sight to behold indeed.

Arriving at the hall, it was filled with much chatter everyone dressed in the finest of gowns and silks. The princess's presence was announced by a castle guard and all the guests turned their heads. Some applauded her arrival others smiled at the young princess walking down to be by her parents' side. The king and queen sat on their thrones overlooking the giant room, their crowns shone brightly from the light that the long diamond chandeliers made. With authority the King commanded everyone to start dancing, announcing the beginning of all celebrations.

As planned many families approached the royal families each introducing their sons to the princess. She stood unimpressed by the lot of them, arrogant little boys was what they were to her. Her eyes began to wonder seeking to escape her current fate, something unexpectedly caught her eye. A familiar face was dancing about in the crowd; she lied to her mother to excuse herself to investigate what she had just saw. Walking to the dance floor her suspicions were correct this was her friend Gwen but she wasn't a noble she's a Weston. Gwen didn't spot her at first but she took a good look at her and then busted into comical laughter hugging her friend happily. Unsurprisingly Gwen was taken back that her friend was actually the princess of the kingdom, the princess had asked her how she was able to be there without being a noble. Gwen informed her that a noble friend of her brothers had brought them masquerading them as lost cousins.

Her finger pointed to a raven haired boy with Ren Weston, they looked like very good friends laughing with each other. Squinting her eyes to focus on the boy, her heart jumped when she realized it was Henry Peters a childhood friend of hers. It wasn't a secret from her mother that she had harbored a crush on him when they once ran about the yards as children. She shot a glance at her mother who appeared to be smiling at her, she giggled to herself realizing what her mother had meant earlier. The princess approached the two boys and introduced herself; Ren was quickly filled with shock while Henry was humorous. He joked about how he never imagined her liking dresses and balls, she quickly swatted his arm.

They had excused themselves from the others to catch up, reliving childhood memories of chasing each other around the grounds of the castle. The princess quickly remembered why she had fallen for Henry all those years back but now she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. His muscular structure and green eyes made her weak to her knees. He took her hand and started telling the story his parents told him, that he had arrived at the castle for a very special reason. He stopped in front of her bringing her closer, raising his hand caressing her cheek he expressed that he had secret feelings for her and that he believed that they were meant to be. The princess was overjoyed and quickly kissed Henry senseless without a second thought.

Returning to the castle they were brought before her parents announcing what just happened. The king smiled and stood raising his voice for everyone to give the two a roomful of applause. The true celebration had officially started, celebrating the union of lost lovers. Henry's parents joined the king and queen for wine and discussion. It was decided that in a few months' time that they would wed on the grounds that they met all those years ago.

The prince and princess stood side by side in the tower embracing each other. He twirled her hair with his finger and muttered my princess to her. She frowned; lifting her eyes to meet his she spoke "Call me my lady." He complied smiling at her "Of course… My lady." She giggled as he kissed her forehead; she rested her head onto his chest falling into a blissful slumber.

"Hermione? Hello? You zoned out on me just there?" she shook herself free from her book, Harry looked at her puzzled "Oh really?" she replied. He shoved his work aside and leaned over the table "Yeah you said something about castles and ballrooms." he whispered to her. Hearing this her cheeks turned a crimson red color "Did I?" she said trying to hide her discomfort. Harry gave her a smirk that made her worry "This may be difficult to hear but it'd be a good thing to stop reading those fantasy novels it's got you acting looney." His piercing green eyes made her want to curl up to avoid them, but she needed a distraction to escape Harry "Is that really the time? Harry we need to go get lunch I'm starving maybe Ron had the right idea after all."

She pushed herself out of the chair and paced towards the library exit leaving Harry at the table. "Come on Harry! You coming?" He slowly gathered himself and his things until he spotted that she had left her books. Being Harry, he lifted her books into his arms; a smile appeared on his lips as he watched his best friend race out of the library "Yes My lady." He muttered under his breath.

AN: A short one shot I came up with as I continue working on my other stories. Hope you guys enjoyed it.


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